MEMBERS of a Worcester law firm have become "dementia friends" after attending a session presented by a work colleague.

Staff in the wills and estates department of Foregate Street based Thursfields Solicitors were told of the support system by Tom Evans, who is a dementia friends champion.

Dementia Friends is an Alzheimer’s Society initiative that aims to help members of the public improve their understanding of dementia and turn that understanding into action. Mr Evans said: "A dementia friends champion is someone who encourages others to make a positive difference and small differences to people living with dementia in their community and to becoming dementia friends in their own right."

Michelle Hetheridge, head of care and court of protection at the firm, added: "Becoming a dementia friend has meant that we, as a department, now have an improved understanding of what it is like for someone living with dementia day to day and what we can do help. We were already members of the Dementia Action Alliance and so becoming dementia friends is yet another example of our team’s commitment to understanding how this condition can affect our clients and their families."